Computer Skills
Beginner
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes
+65 XP
Pupils work on their own device
What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC or iPad/Tablet

Your AI Copilot: Prompting AI to Do Better Work

Learn to use AI assistants effectively as a Drafter, Critic, and Explainer on your own work. Master prompt patterns that get genuine results: being specific, giving a role, showing examples, and iterating. Practise on your Something Real project.

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    1 - Introduction ~5 mins

    Illustration for Introduction

    Today you will

    • use the AI tool your school has approved in three modes: Drafter, Critic and Explainer
    • write prompts that give you useful answers
    • decide what to keep, change or reject, and say why
    Warm-up

    Think about the last time you asked an AI for help. Was the first answer useful, or did you have to change your prompt?

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +5 XP

    2 - Key Concepts ~5 mins

    • Drafter: the AI writes a first version, and then you edit it.
    • Critic: you paste in your work and ask where it is weak.
    • Explainer: the AI explains an idea at the level you need.
    • Specific prompt: you give the AI a role, your real material and a limit.

    Getting help from AI is fine, but handing in its work as yours is cheating.

    Example

    "Help me with my pitch" gets you a vague, general answer. "Act as a communications coach. Rewrite this opening in 25 words for my year head" works better.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +10 XP

    3 - Step-by-step Task: Three Modes, One Project ~17 mins

    You will take one weak pitch sentence for a TY bake sale through all three modes. Watch your teacher first, then follow the steps in the box below. When a step asks for a prompt, copy it from here.

    Prompt 1: Drafter

    Act as a school communications coach. I'm writing a 2-minute pitch to my year head. My opening line is: "We want to do a bake sale so we can go on our TY trip." Give me three alternative opening sentences that are more specific and more persuasive. Each must be one sentence long, mention the specific cause (a Galway trip), and be written in the voice of a TY student.

    Prompt 2: Critic

    Act as a direct, honest critic. Here is my pitch opening: "[paste your chosen sentence]". Find three specific weaknesses in clarity, evidence, or persuasiveness. For each weakness, explain in one sentence what a reader would think, and suggest one concrete fix.

    Prompt 3: Explainer

    Explain "break-even point" at Junior Cert business level. In the worked example, clearly distinguish fixed costs (which stay the same no matter how many items are sold, e.g. table hire €30 and flyers €10) from variable costs (which rise with each item sold, e.g. ingredients of €0.40 per brownie). Use a school bake sale with a selling price of €2 per brownie. Show how many brownies must be sold to break even. Keep the whole explanation to five sentences or fewer.

    Follow-up, if you need it

    I didn't get the fixed costs part; can you explain that with a different example from a school fundraiser?
    +15 XP

    4 - Common Issues ~3 mins

    If you seeDo this
    The answer is vague and general.Add a role, your real material and a limit to your prompt, then send it again.
    A fact sounds wrong.AI can make things up, so check it somewhere else or don't use it.
    The AI still answers about [paste your chosen sentence].Send "Ignore my last message" and paste in your real sentence.

    Two prompts and what comes back. The vague prompt, Help me with my pitch, gets a vague, general answer. The specific prompt has a role, your real material and a limit, and gets an answer you can use.

    +10 XP

    5 - Portfolio Build: AI Workbench ~20 mins

    Independent Practice

    Your goal: Use AI in all three modes on your own Something Real.
    Time: ~20 minutes
    Task:
    1. In {{code:Digital_Portfolio}}, make a document called {{code:07_ai_workbench}}.
    2. Copy the table below into it.
    3. Drafter: ask AI for a one-sentence hook for your pitch.
    4. Critic: paste in {{code:04_polished_proposal}} and ask for three weak spots.
    5. Explainer: ask AI about a word in {{code:05_numbers_sheet}} or {{code:06_decision_chart}} that you can't explain yet.

    Fill in a row for each mode, then finish with the sentence under the table. If time is short, do the Explainer row at home.

    ModePrompt you sentAI output (summary is fine)Kept / Changed / Rejected, and why (one line)
    Drafter………
    Critic………
    Explainerfirst prompt + your follow-up…your own two-sentence teach-back

    AI helped me most with X; AI was least useful for Y.

    Success criteria:
    • {{code:07_ai_workbench}} has at least two rows filled in.
    • Each row shows my prompt, the AI answer and my choice.
    • My Critic row has one point I kept and one I rejected.
    • My last line says where AI helped most and least.
    +15 XP
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